It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.

light moment focus

About Aristotle

Portrait of Aristotle

Aristotle (Ancient Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης, romanized: Aristotélēs; 384–322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings span the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, and the arts. As the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy in the Lyceum in Athens, he began the wider Aristotelian tradition that...

More quotations from Aristotle

The end of labor is to gain leisure.

Well begun is half done.

Nature does nothing in vain.

To perceive is to suffer.

He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god.

More quotations tagged with “focus”

No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.

—Harry Emerson Fosdick

power focus discipline dedication

In this very breath that we take now lies the secret that all great teachers try to tell us.

—Peter Matthiessen

wisdom focus secret breath meditation teachers

It’s important to keep your options open. It’s important to live and not get hung up on the past. The past is called the past for a reason. If you are constantly looking behind you, your eyes aren’t on the road ahead.

—Rachel Van Dyken in The Bet

future past focus

“Living it up” has become the leitmotif of modern man—a compulsive hyperactivity without any downtimes, no gap of unscheduled time, lest we end up alone with ourselves. The meaning doesn’t matter, so long as it’s intense. We feel that without constant activity, life would be fatally insipid. Friends of mine who lead cultural tours in Asia have told me how their clients can’t bear the least gap in their itinerary. “Is there really nothing scheduled between five and seven?” they ask anxiously. We are, it seems, afraid to turn our gaze in in upon ourselves. We are fully focused on the exterior world, as experienced through our five senses. It seems naive to believe that such a feverish search for intense experience can lead to a lasting enriched quality of life.

If we do take the time to explore our inner world, it’s in the form of daydreaming and imagination, dwelling on the past of fantasizing endlessly about the future. A genuine sense of fulfillment, associated with inner freedom, can also offer intensity to every living moment, but of an altogether different sort. It is a sparkling experience of inner well-being, in which the beauty of each thing shines through. It is knowing how to enjoy the present moment, the willingness to nurture altruism and serenity and bring the best part of ourselves to mature—transforming oneself to better transform the world.

—Matthieu Ricard in Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill

life fear beauty time focus transformation activity aloneness slowing down anxiety serenity